The north bound AMVET Bridge over the croton reservoir, which carries over 32,000 vehicles a day, has been closed for construction.
The $26 million project includes replacing steel hangers, deck supports, concrete decking and railing, installing new guide rail and resurfacing the roadway on each end of the northbound bridge.
The sanctioned construction zone measures three-and-a-half miles long. The parkway will be four lanes wide with a concrete divider between two lanes in each direction and a speed limit of 45mph. The speed limit has been lowered to 35 miles per hour while over the bridge and lanes have been reduced from 11 feet to 9 feet.
Inevitably this has caused a huge increase in traffic, delays and dismay for local commuters.
Many woke up the Monday of April 2nd to find Mercy college students and teachers have been expressing there anger and worry over Facebook, twitter, and all forms of social media.
Lateness has been on the rise for many early classes as rush hour traffic has “turned an already hectic commute into a night mare” says student Nicole Lee Massotti
While the repairs are necessary the DOT (department of transpiration) has been dealing with backlash from the closing since the construction began.
Commissioner of the DOT Joan McDonald stated “Rehabilitating this bridge is critical to the long-term capability of the Taconic State Parkway and to ensure the safety of the thousands of travelers that use this scenic parkway every day,”
However, statements like these offer little consolation to people like professor Celia Reissig-Vasile who has to travel over the bridge at all hours on a daily basis to get to and from the Yorktown campus.
The thought of the dimly lit narrowed passage way that is now a 3 mile stretch of her daily commute has made the job she loves an anxious environment as she hyperventilates at the thought of the trip that lies ahead of her. Her travelling anxieties seep into the class room as she uses it in class room examples such as when asked what to write about from a student she replied “write about a time you were afraid of something, like for me Id write how Im terrified to drive home with the current construction taking place”
With the lane merge and reduction in speed limit the DOT feels they are as prepared for the delays as they could be.
“Work on this bridge and the re-routing of traffic will necessarily cause delays in both directions. We urge drivers to use alternate routes and allow extra travel time.” Said commissioner McDonald
In order to avoid further delays, DOT officials are hoping to shed as much as 2,200 cars in the morning and evening rush hour commutes to alternate routes, such as Route 9, Route 100, I-684 and the Saw Mill River Parkway.
Phase one of the bridges repairs began back in spring of 2011, and just recently ended in march of this year. The process of rerouting traffic from the north bound road to merge seamlessly into the south bound in itself took nearly a year and the current bridge construction is estimated to be finished by this November.
While many are in outrage over the new addition to their stress full mornings many more praise the dot on there route design.
“I saw the signs for construction and realized the bridge I passed over was not the same but before I knew it I was back on my normal rout and the signs said the work zone was over” said mercy campus commuter, “I never really felt like I was taking any kind of detour at all.”
The bridges faults were shown 2 years ago as a project to paint the bridge was given. While the job was being done it was brought to attention the major repairs needed to the now 81 year old bridge as the last renovation was done in 1989
